Make Me Proud
by sundayxmorningx
Summary: And never give up. With Clare by his side, Jake visits Muskoka on a certain day to visit a certain someone. *More information inside.


**A/N: I don't own Degrassi.  
><strong>**  
>Again, just another Cake idea I have and I'm just going with it. This explores Jake more than Clare. And I think my years might be off but please bear with me. Also, I'm not entirely sure what happened to Jake's mom but in this story, she passed away. Also I don't know how far Muskoka and Toronto are, but for the sake of this story, it's close enough for a day's drive. Sorry if it's completely off!<strong>

**Italics means flashback.**

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><p>Jake hesitantly opened the door to Clare's house and poked his head in.<p>

"Clare?"

The curly haired girl turned around, "Hey Jake. I wasn't expecting to see you today."

"Yeah," he walked in, "I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd say hi."

She gave him a flirty smile as she got up to give him a quick kiss. Jake had a bouquet of flowers in his hand.

"Is everything ok?" she asked.

Jake looked down, avoiding her eyes, "It's September 18."

Clare' eyes widened, "Oh. So you're on your way to –"

He simply nodded, "My dad was supposed to come with me but one of his customers threw a fit so he had to go do a quick renovation."

"Did you – I could – Did you want company?" she stuttered, "Only if it's ok with you, I wouldn't want to intrude."

Jake thought about for a second before answering, "Actually, could you come with me? It has been two years but it still isn't any easier."

Clare nodded, "Of course."

The two told Helen of their plan and she was perfectly ok with it. They climbed into Jake's truck and made their way to Muskoka. The drive was quiet, except for the music that softly played. Clare held Jake's hand, rubbing her thumb across his skin. That seemed to calm him down and as they hit a red light, he leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek. Their relationship was still very much casual but they showed PDA whenever they had a chance.

_"I don't think I can ever be in a relationship," Jake told his mom._

_She looked up from her magazine, "What makes you say that?"_

_The 14-year-old seemed uncomfortable, "Well, you know, you and dad..."_

_Kathleen smiled at her son, "Oh honey, just because you're father and I didn't work out doesn't mean you should just give up on love just like that."_

_"But you two were married for so long and now it's like it never happened," he said._

_"Your father and I loved each other very much," she told him, "And I guess in the end, it didn't really work out but there isn't anything about our relationship we would change. We were good to each other but we also had our differences. Don't give up so fast."_

_Jake listened to her words._

_"Who knows?" Kathleen said, "You might meet a girl who will be worth taking a risk and starting a relationship with."_

He snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the girl to his right. Clare looked out the window, admiring the scenery. She kept caressing his hand, never complaining. Things haven't been easy for her either but she was handling it the best she could – the divorce was still fresh in her mind and Eli tried to flaunt his relationship with Imogen whenever he could. Clare kept herself busy by diving into her school work, Degrassi Daily, yearbook, her friends, and Jake. They always had a great time together – there was never any pressure between them. He genuinely did like her.

Jake pulled over and exited the truck with Clare following right behind him. She caught up to him and gave him an encouraging smile, something he couldn't help but return. As they continued walking, he slowly intertwined his hand with hers. Losing his mother wasn't easy and it took him a while to cope with it. There were still moments when he would miss her, but he always knew that his mom would want him to be strong and carry on with his goals and dreams. He promised her that he would.

_"I wanna be just like dad when he grows up!" and 8-year-old Jake told Kathleen and Glen._

_"Well you already have my good looks," Glen joked._

_Kathleen laughed at her boys, "Jake, honey, you can be whatever you want. Don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise."_

_"Even an astra-not?" he asked, "Or a myu-si-shan?"_

_She just nodded her head encouragingly, "Astronaut, musician, prime minister… Anything."_

_Jake smiled, "I wanna make you proud."_

_The words hit Glen and Helen to the core and they couldn't help but smile._

_"You will, son. You will."_

The pair stopped walking and Jake put the flowers by the tombstone. He then walked back to Clare and grabbed her hand again.

Kathleen Martin  
>1971-2009<br>Loving mother, faithful wife, wonderful friend

"Hey mom," Jake said, "I miss you."

Clare looked at him with empathy. He continued, "So we moved to Toronto and I'm gonna be honest, I hated it. I think I didn't speak to dad for two days."

Clare wasn't aware of that but didn't bother him about it.

"But," Jake looked over to her and smiled, "I've grown used to it. Degrassi is a great school, dad's business is doing better, I've made some great friends… Some friends have been really great."

Clare caught that statement and slightly giggled.

"I remember," Jake softly spoke, "My mom always liked you. She thought you were adorable and a good influence on me."

"And all you could do was throw dead frogs at me," Clare reminded him, poking his side.

"Maybe," he laughed out, "Maybe it was me saying I liked you."

She rolled her eyes, "Sure sure."

_"Have you seen Clare?" Kathleen showed a picture to a 12-year-old Jake._

_He looked at the picture, Clare had glasses and long curly hair. She was cute but nerdy. Too nerdy for Jake's liking._

_"Eh, she's ok," he shrugged._

_Kathleen was reminiscing, "You and Clare were inseperable."_

_Jake mumbled, "Only because we were the only kids around, besides Darcy."_

_"You should keep in touch with her," she encouraged._

_"Why?" he asked, "The Edwards were more of your friends than mine."_

_Kathleen just smiled, "It never hurts to have more friends. Besides, you and Clare were cute together."_

_"Whatever," Jake walked off._

Softly, Clare spoke, "I really liked your mom. She always gave me extra cookies when you weren't looking."

"I knew it," Jake playfully accused.

The two shared a small laugh. She then asked, "Did you need some time?"

"Yeah," he whispered. Clare nodded and walked back to the truck.

Jake started talking, "So I'm sure you know about Glen and Helen. Crazy, huh? But they seem happy and I know all you ever wanted was for us to be happy."

There was no reply but he knew his mom was listening.

"You probably also know about me and Clare, huh?" he scratched the back of his head, nervous, "She really has grown up. She has also been a lot of fun to hang out with."

The flowers softly blew with the wind.

"Don't give up on relationships, right?" he remembered, "I'll keep that in mind."

After a few more minutes, Jake was finished and casually walked up to Clare. She looked up, questioning if he was ok, with her eyes. All he did was kiss her on the forehead.

"How about we go to Little Miss Steaks tomorrow," he suggested, "My treat."

She gave him a smirk, "Is this a date? I thought you didn't do dates."

Jake just shrugged, "So how does tomorrow sound?"

Clare got on her toes to kiss him, "I'd like that."

The two drove off, content with each other's company and excited for tomorrow's date. Jake thought, his mom would be proud.

And she was.

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><p><strong>AN: What do you think? Reviews would be great, please. =) I still really like EClare but there's a soft spot for Cake right now. They're good for each other at this moment. Anyway, these are my thoughts at one in the morning. Hehe. **


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